The coveted 24 per cent stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team has taken a fresh twist, with the arrival of a new hopeful wishing to purchase it.
The Enstone-based squad has been the subject of outside interest in the stake – currently owned by Otro Capital – initially by former Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
It looked as if a latest plot in his longstanding rivalry with Toto Wolff would commence, with reports the Austrian was also interested.
But it turned out that it Wolff’s interest was part of a larger Mercedes bid for the stake, the team having recently taken on the German marque’s power units from this season.
And now it seems that both entities are facing competition from a high-profile source, who also has a current interest in other sport.
Steve Cohen, the founder of SAC Capital Investors, has, according to PlanetF1, thrown his hat into the ring, the billionaire having purchased the New York Metz baseball team six years ago.
Otro, which boasts the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as part of its roster that is involved in Alpine’s stake, are only able to sell it from September, but it is thought that Renault, the team’s overall owners, could force an earlier sale.
It is understood that Renault Group is keen to find an investor for Alpine that is most likely to be proactive in furthering the F1 team’s fortunes.
The report states that Cohen has submitted a bid of just over $6 million.
Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has saved the team a sizeable chunk of money by moving away from its manufacturer status, via Renault, to become Mercedes customers this year.
It’s clear the Italian has been deployed to find the team ways of saving and making money, and if the winning bidder of the stake enables a drive forwards on track, then who would bet against a third wave on Enstone-based success?
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